By: IOL Motoring Staff
Ingolstadt, Germany - Keeping true to form, Audi has came up with a new concept by going back to the past.
The Audi Prologue Avant follows in much the same footsteps as the Audi RS2 Avant of the early 1990s, which was the first production estate car to wear the badge of the prestige RS performance division.
The Prologue Avant resets Audi's design compass; penned by the company's in-house team under recently appointed design chief Marc Lichte, it gives us an insight into what we can expect from future models.
The Prologue Avant is a big car - more than five metres long - but its stretched roofline and low-lying D pillars suggest the sleek and sporty profile of a coupé rather than an estate
Due to be presented at the Geneva motor show in March, it has a similar hybrid drive system to the Q7 e-tron - although Audi quotes even better performance figures for this show car, with the three-litre V6 turbodiesel and electric-motor combination producing 335kW and 750Nm.
TAKING CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Despite its size, an eight-speed tiptronic transmission and permanent quattro all-wheel drive will take it from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds, and pure-electric range is quoted at a creditable 54km, thanks to 14,1kWh supplied by the lithium-ion battery pack.
According to Audi, the show car has a nominal fuel consumption of 1.6 litres per 100km (within the EU cycle) with only 43g/km of CO2 emissions, proving that taking care of the environment doesn't have to be a chore.
Inside, organic light emitting diode display technology keeps the occupants digitally connected, with a full-width fascia comprising three touch-screens stretching across the dashboard, while rear-seat passengers can sit back and relax with detachable organic LED displays, similar to those in the new Q7.